Indian Ethnic Complexity in Hispaniola and Puerto Rico and Its Implications for the Study of European/Indian Contact During the Early Colonial Period

Summary

Scholarly interest utilizing archaeological and ethnohistorical studies to understand the genesis and development of Caribbean creole societies has grown in the last few years. Perspectives have shifted to emphasize the diversity of groups in the Caribbean during precolonial times, and how this continued into the colonial period as Europeans and Africans coalesced in the area. The conflictual aspect of this interaction whereby Europeans imposed a system of forced labor, along with drastic Indian population losses have obscured the contributions of indigenous peoples to colonial societies and culture.

This paper summarizes archaeological and historical data for Puerto Rico and Hispaniola on the diversity of Indian groups in the early colonial period and the different ways they reacted and responded to Old World peoples. It postulates the concept of cultural transformation to explain the process of change occurring among these populations, and how they employed strategies which varied from island to island. It discusses the evidence for the persistence of Indian groups well into the colonial period and what this may imply for the formation of creole societies, and ends with a call for further archaeological research focusing on early colonial sites.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20374